Spot, Curve or Bid-Ask? Meteora DLMM strategies explained

Two choices: shape and range

The program knows three shapes, Spot, Curve and BidAsk, and each can use both tokens or just one. Names like Spot-Concentrated or Spot-Wide are shortcuts in the app: a shape plus a number of bins.^[1] In the app, a new position starts with 69 bins centred on the current price; you can go down to fewer bins or up to 1,400.^[2]

Spot: the all-rounder

Spot puts the same amount of liquidity in every bin you pick. Meteora calls it the most straightforward shape, and its app suggests it when you're not sure.^[1][2] Its presets differ only in width:

Curve: the most fees per dollar, near the price

Curve puts most of your liquidity around the middle of the range. It is meant for stable pairs and calm markets where the price should stay close to where it is. The catch: if the price wanders from the centre, the position goes out of range sooner, so it needs adjusting more often.^[1]

Bid-Ask: built for big swings

Bid-Ask is the opposite of Curve, with more liquidity at the edges of the range. It suits jumpy markets and gradual buying or selling: your tokens wait where bigger moves may land, so you buy lower or sell higher. Until the price reaches those edge bins, it may earn little.^[1]

Choosing a range and a bin step

A narrow range earns more while the price stays inside it but stops earning sooner; a wide one survives bigger moves but spreads each dollar over more bins.^[1] The pool's bin step decides how much price each bin covers, so the same number of bins reaches much further in a pool with a bigger step. The table in What is DLMM? shows how much further.

Going past 69 bins costs a little more rent, which you get back later. And if your range reaches bins nobody has used before, creating that block of bins (a bin array) costs about 0.075 SOL that you don't get back. The app shows both before you confirm.^[3]

Strategies for common goals

• A stable pair: a small bin step with Curve or Spot-Concentrated, checked often in case the peg slips.^[1]
• A jumpy pair: a bigger bin step or a wide Spot range, so the position doesn't leave its range at once; Bid-Ask to catch moves toward the edges.^[1]
• Buying a token slowly: put in only the quote token (for example USDC), in bins below the price. As the price falls, it turns into the token you want.^[1]
• Selling a token slowly: put in only the base token, in bins above the price. As the price rises, it turns into the quote token.^[1]
• A token launch: a shape that fits the expected swings, wide enough for the price to find its level.^[1]

If you only want to buy or sell at one price, and not earn fees across a range, use a DLMM limit order. It fills if trades reach the bins you chose, and you can cancel it if they don't.^[4]